The Complicated High School Life of Naruto Uzumaki
by ShinigamiWings
Summary: Ever wonder what would happen if the ninja world was just like ours? If the kids were somewhat normal instead of talented ninjas? Well, enter the new life of Naruto Uzumaki, a transfer student to the prestigious Konoha High School. Will he be able to adjust to the strict school? Or will the secrets of his past clash with the secrets of his classmates? SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiXOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone! Just to let you know, this is not a new story. I decided to rewrite some chapters from my story "Naruto High School 101" because as the years have passed, my writing skills have become better and I did not feel satisfied with the first few chapters of the story (yes, I am a perfectionist). so don't worry, there aren't really any major changes to the story. For those of you who haven't read my story, don't worry. This starts from the very beginning, and I will be updating (hopefully) every week. Things might change once school starts, but never fear! My resolution is to write more and not be as absent as I have been for the past year. Again, thank you all for reading my stories and please continue with your support!  
**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or Naruto Shippuden (unfortunately...). The only thing I own is my fancharacter Sophia and the idea for this story.**

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**Chapter 1 – "My Name's Naruto, and I'm Gonna Be Souban of Japan!"**

"Got to hurry! Got to hurry!" a pink-haired girl yelled as she rushed past her schoolmates in the hallway. Hearing a few of them grumble angrily, she turned around and replied, "Sorry! I'm running late!"

Upon reaching her classroom, the girl (who was wearing a green and white school uniform) slammed the door open and sprinted to her seat. She didn't care how much of an idiot she looked like – there was no way she could be late to school again!

"Forget to set your alarm, Sakura?" asked a blonde-haired girl sitting next to her.

The pink-haired girl Sakura let out a nervous laugh before answering, "O-Of course not, Ino! What would make you think that?"

Her friend Ino just giggled. "Still the same old Sakura!"

A cough from the front interrupted their laughter. A girl with black hair and blue hi-lites turned toward their direction. "You two do realize that class has started, right?"

Quickly, the two girls regained their composure and got out their text books for homeroom. "Sorry, Sophia-lincho*."

"Geez, who cares if class has already started?" a brown-haired boy - who for some reason had a white dog with him – said. "It's not like Kakashi-sensei shows up on time anyway."

"Kiba, even if Kakashi-senpai* _is _always late, I'm still the class president," Sophia, the black-haired girl, replied. "Which means I have to take responsibility when he's not here."

"Yeah, yeah," Kiba mumbled. "Doesn't mean you have to be a party pooper."

Sophia glared at him. "What was that?"

A sweat drop appeared on the back of Kiba's head. "U-Um, n-nothing, Sophia-lincho."

Their conversation ended when a yell erupted from outside the classroom.

"I hope you maggots are studying!"

Every student in the room hurriedly pulled out their text books to make it seem like they were reading. Suddenly, the door to the classroom was kicked open, and in walked a woman with blonde hair in pigtails, a blonde-haired boy, a silver-haired man wearing a mask, and a black-haired woman.

All the students in the room stood up and greeted the woman with blonde hair. "Good morning, Tsunade-sama!"

"Sit," she commanded. After the students took their seats, she continued, "I want to introduce you all to Uzumaki Naruto." Tsunade motioned toward the blonde-haired boy. "He's a transfer student from far away and your new classmate. I trust you all will help him out with his schedule. Naruto, go ahead and have a seat."

Before the new kid headed to his seat, Sakura took a good look at him. He would've seemed like every other student had it not been for the fact that he was wearing a black overcoat (which made him look like a gang leader) and had whiskers drawn on his face (of course, it wasn't something that stood out that much considering Kiba had red triangle-type things on each cheek)._ Who in the world is this guy? He looks like a freak._ Sakura thought. _Well, as long as he doesn't bother Sasuke-kun -_

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by the boy's voice. Apparently, he was walking to his seat when he tripped by a boy with short black hair.

"Hey! Why'd you trip me, huh!" Naruto asked the boy, raising his fist up to the person's face.

"I didn't trip you, idiot," the boy Sasuke replied. "You tripped over yourself. Don't blame other people for your embarrassment."

That ticked Naruto off. "What was that!"

"You heard me."

Naruto grabbed Sasuke by his shirt. Sakura was about to break up their fight when Sophia came out of nowhere and hit both of the boys on the head.

"Fighting is prohibited on school grounds!" she yelled. "If you two want to act like immature children, go somewhere else!"

Once both calmed down, Naruto let Sasuke go and plodded to his seat. Sophia sighed.

"Sasuke-kun, you should know better than that," Sophia muttered to him as she walked back to her seat.

"Thank you, Sophia," Tsunade said after everyone quieted down. "Alright, Kakashi, the class is yours."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama," the silver-haired man said.

Once Tsunade and the black-haired woman Shizune were gone, Kakashi had the students open their text books and began the lesson.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sophia's POV)**

This morning was...eventful to say the least. I couldn't believe that the new kid had managed to start a fight on his first day – especially with Uchiha of all people! Of course, it was kind of funny. Sasuke hasn't had a look of surprise on his face for a while.

"Geez, that Naruto guy was so annoying," Ino complained as we changed out of our P.E. clothes. "I mean, who the hell does he think he is, picking a fight with Sasuke-kun!"

"I know!" agreed Sakura. "It's a good thing you were there to stop him, Sophia-lincho."

Exhaling, I told them, "I didn't do it for your fan girl purposes. If their bickering had continued, it would've been World War III."

"Just admit it, Sophia-lincho," TenTen said as she fixed her hair into two top buns, "You like Sasuke-kun too!"

"Ew, no! Sasuke might be slightly attractive, but I have no interest in him. Besides, I – nevermind."

"Besides you what?" Sakura probed.

Ino jumped in, giggling as she spoke. "Besides, she's in love with Neji-san!"

I could feel my cheeks turning red. "N-No! It's not like that! Neji-kun and I are just really good friends!"

"Are you kidding me?" exclaimed Ino. "There's no such thing as being 'really good friends' between a guy and a girl! Just admit it! You like Neji-san and he likes you!"

"W-What? No, you're mistaken! Now, come on! We've got to get to lunch before the guys do. Kami* knows, if they get there first then we won't be eating anything. Wait, where's Hinata?"

"I-I'm here!" her soft voice answered from the entrance of the locker room. "Sorry, I had to go to the nurse. I accidentally tripped over myself while we were running and managed to, um, scrape my knee pretty badly."

"Geez, Hinata," moaned Sakura. "You're too clumsy."

"W-Well, I had noticed that Naruto-kun was sitting by himself on the bleachers and I felt bad. H-He must have forgotten his P.E. clothes."

"Eh? What's this?" inquired Ino, nudging her elbow into Hinata's side. "Is Hinata developing a crush on the new kid?"

"Huh? N-No!"

Hinata's face was completely red, so I decided to step in. "Forget about it, Hinata. Ino's just trying to play matchmaker with our class. Now, let's hurry up and get some food!"

Rushing, we ran towards the cafeteria. I wasn't kidding when I said that if the boys got there first then we wouldn't be eating at all. Chouji alone eats half the food the lunch ladies make! Bursting through the doors of the cafeteria, all of us gave a sigh of relief. We beat the boys! However, before our cheering could end, a cloud of smoke appeared at the end of the hallway.

"Oh no! They're coming!" TenTen shrieked.

As fast as we could, we sprinted to the lunch line. Unfortunately, my almost-as-clumsy-as-Hinata-self slipped backwards. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact of my head to the floor. But, for some reason, that moment didn't happen. As I opened my eyes, they were met by silver ones – gorgeous silver eyes to be exact.

"N-Neji-kun!" I stuttered, surprised and thankful that he caught me.

After he helped me back on my feet, my hero asked, "Are you okay?"

I blushed and said, "Yes, thank you."

Neji gave me a small smile before gesturing towards the lunch line. "Ladies first."

If it were even possible, my face turned a darker shade of red as I walked toward the still short lunch line (Neji-kun held the boys back until I had gotten a place in line – such a dream boat!).

As I grabbed food, Ino whispered, "Way to go, Sophia-lincho!"

Blushing, I questioned, "What do you mean?"

She winked at me before saying, "You know – 'accidentally' slipping so that Neji-san would catch you! Good plan!"

"I-It wasn't planned! It was a complete accident."

Still, she wouldn't believe me. She just kept saying, "Sure, sure," as we made our way to the lunch tables. It was then that I noticed our usual table had been captured by a dastardly red-haired witch and her evil flying monkeys.

"What does Karin think she's doing?" I queried, disgusted by the selfish girl's appearance.

Ino groaned. "Can't she just leave us alone for one day? Why does she have to be such a –"

"Well, well, well." Ino's name calling came to a halt when the devil herself detected our existence. "Look who it is. The wannabe pretty girls."

I smirked. "Look, Ino, a couple of naked mole rats found their way to the school. Tell me, Karin, was the ground cold when you crawled out this morning?"

Our daily battle of wits commenced as Karin replied, "I see you've set apart this time to humiliate yourself."

"I would love to insult you, but you wouldn't understand."

"Somewhere out there is a tree, tirelessly producing oxygen so you can breathe. I think you owe it an apology."

"You have such a big mouth, you could eat a banana sideways."

"Anybody who told you to simply be yourself couldn't have given you worse advice."

"I'd love to see things from your point of view, but unfortunately I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass."

Victory! No words came from Karin's mouth as she turned back to her food.

"Hey!" I demanded. "I just beat you. Now, let us have our table!"

"I'm sorry, girls, did you hear something?" Karin asked her friends.

Anger swelled up in my body, but Ino held me back. "It's alright, Sophia-lincho. Let's just find a different table."

Taking a deep breath, I followed Ino in search of a new table. Adding on to my bad luck, I discovered that there were not enough seats for me and my friends to sit at; I was the only one without a place to sit (or so I thought).

"Sophia-lincho, we'll make some room if you want," Sakura said.

"No, it's fine." I smiled to assure them that I was okay. "I'll just find somewhere else to sit."

TenTen's eyes brightened. "Hey! It looks like Neji-kun doesn't have anywhere to sit either. Maybe you two can get a table together!" She winked at me much like Ino had done in the lunch line. Once again, I felt my face turn red.

"For the last time, you guys!" I started but was interrupted by my knight in shining armor.

"Ah, Sophia, are you searching for somewhere to sit too?" he asked.

I nodded my head in reply.

"Then let's look together."

"O-Okay."

As I walked off with Neji-kun, I glanced back to my friends and mouthed, "Don't say anything," before turning back around to talk to Neji. Sigh, he was _so _handsome. And smart. And athletic. And, well, perfect. If only I had the guts to say something to him. _Snap out of it! _My inner-self yelled. _Neji-kun's just a friend! Besides, what could he see in us anyways? _My inner-self was right. Neji-kun was perfect, but I wasn't anywhere near that. I was _way_ out of his league! Before I could continue to dishearten myself anymore, I realized that Naruto was sitting by himself in the corner of the cafeteria.

"Sophia?" called Neji. "What's wrong?"

"The new kid Naruto – he's sitting by himself. Why don't we join him?"

I waited for a response. When I faced Neji, I recognized a look of uncertainty. "Look, it's okay if you don't want to. I can just sit with him tomorrow."

Neji was about to answer when he noticed Shikamaru, Sasuke, Shino, Chouji, Lee, and Kiba walking over to Naruto's table. Smiling, he said, "I think he'll be fine today, Sophia."

I nodded my head and replied, "Okay, let's go then."

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Normal POV)**

"Well, look who it is," commented Ino as Sophia entered the classroom. "So, Sophia-lincho, how was your lunch date?"

Again, Sophia's face turned red. "D-D-Date? W-What are you talking about?"

Ino's eyes crinkled. "You know, when Neji-san asked you to sit with him at lunch?"

"I-It wasn't a date!"

"Sure it was," Kiba butted in. "When a guy and a girl hang out, it's usually called a date."

"Oh, so when you slow down to run with Hinata during P.E., that's a date?"

Some of the kids in the classroom giggled while a few others went "Oh!" Even Akamaru, Kiba's dog, barked as if to say, "Burn!" All while Kiba was trying not to blush like a girl.

"Ne, who's this Neji guy?" Sophia heard Naruto ask.

"He's the best martial artist in the school," answered Shikamaru.

Lee added, "Not just in the school, in the whole area. He's better than anyone I've ever met!"

"Whoa," uttered Naruto, almost speechless.

"Hn, you're amazed too easily," criticized Sasuke.

Ticked, Naruto jumped in front of Sasuke and grabbed him by his shirt. "What was that?"

Smirking, Sasuke retorted, "Hn, and apparently deaf too."

"Teme!"

"Dobe!"

Sophia just stared at them in bewilderment. She just couldn't believe it! It was a reenactment of this morning! Sighing, she put her hand to her head.

"Sophia-lincho, aren't you going to stop them?" inquired Sakura, a bit concerned that the fight would be worse than this morning.

"Let them be," said Sophia as Neji walked in. "I'll let Genma-senpai take care of it once he gets here."

The three of them turned their attention back to the two dweebs who were fighting.

"Listen here, Sauce-kay!" Naruto shouted. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the souban* of all Japan!"

Everyone in the room fell over, surprised at his statement. _S-Souban? _thought Sophia.

"Tch, that's the stupidest thing I've heard you say yet," replied Sasuke.

That ticked Naruto off even more. "Why you – "

"Hey! Unless you two want detention for a week, I suggest you stop fighting," a voice announced.

"Genma-senpai!" the girls in the class cheered with hearts in their eyes.

A man with light brown hair appeared out of nowhere between Sasuke and Naruto, scaring the both of them.

"He's so cool!" the girls cheered again.

Every guy thought the same thing. _What's with them?_

"I'll let you two off with a warning," cautioned Genma. He paused. "But just this once."

The two boys just growled as they took their seats. A few snickers from the front of the room, however, caught Genma's attention.

"And you," he said as he appeared in front of Sophia, much to her surprise, "why didn't you stop them, Sophia?"

"Ah! G-Genma-senpai," stuttered Sophia. She had no idea what to say; all she could do was stand there and look like an idiot.

"Sorry, she was distracted," Neji lied. "I was asking about a homework question for English class so she didn't know that those two were fighting until you showed up, Genma-sensei."

Genma didn't believe all that Neji had said, but he let it go. "Very well. Now, if all of you would take your seats."

_Geez,_ Naruto mentally complained, _Iruka-sensei was right! This place really is strict! Man, I wish this wouldn't have been the only option to get out of Juve*, but I guess I'll have to deal with it for a while. If only that Sauce-kay guy weren't so annoying! What do the girls in this school see in him?_ Grumbling, Naruto tried to pay attention to Genma-sensei, but he had a feeling that his problem with Sasuke wasn't going to be the only problem at this school.

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**And that's it for this chapter! I hope you enjoyed! This fanfiction will be partly based upon the "Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den" OVA that was presented on one of the Naruto Shippuden DVDs. I really liked the OVA and used it as my inspiration for this story. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, "What is that asterisk doing beside that word?" Well, some Japanese words and suffixes just couldn't be avoided (mostly because I love the Japanese culture and language) so for those of you who have no idea what those words or suffixes mean, I'm putting them down here along with their meanings.**

**-lincho*: this usually means "class representative" or "class president"**

**-senpai*: used to address senior colleagues or mentor figures**

**souban*: a slang word used by Japanese gangs to refer to their gang leader**

**Kami*: a Japanese god**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! This is the second rewritten chapter of my Naruto story; this is perhaps one of the longest chapters I've ever written, but that's because I combined the old chapter 2 and chapter 3 together. So without any further a do (is that how you spell it? Ah, oh well...), here you go!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or "Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den!" (the inspiration for my story). If I did, Itachi would still be living and Neji-kun would appear more in the manga _and_ anime! However, I do own my fancharacter Sophia (more of her biography to be revealed in the story).**

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**Chapter 2 – "I Never Thought Dodgeball Would End Like This!"**

**(Sophia's POV)**

Today had been hectic. The new kid was hard enough to handle, but the scene Karin had caused at lunch was enough to get me somewhat pissed. It was a good thing Neji-kun knew how to cheer me up. Even though we didn't have a lot of time to eat lunch, he still managed to make me smile. Sigh, I wish the two of us could have more lunch dates. _Idiot!_ My inner-self interrupted. _It wasn't a date! If Ino found out you actually called it that, she'd never let you live another day without saying something!_ 'Yes, yes,' I told myself as I grabbed my sports bag and closed my locker. I walked out the door and made my way to the gymnasium. On my way there, I noticed Ino poking her head around the corner of the next building, obviously eavesdropping on something.

"Hey, Ino, what's going on?" I asked quietly as I came up behind her.

Ino jumped, the life almost completely leaving her. After recollecting her composure, she turned to me and said, "Oh, Sophia-lincho, it's you."

"Ino, what's going on?" I asked again.

She pointed to the side of the building she had been poking her head around. "It's Sasuke-kun and that annoying transfer student."

That made me curious. I stuck my head around the corner just as Ino had done previously and beheld the sight in front of me. _Really? _I said to myself. The two were fighting _again_! This was the third time in one day! Had they been a married couple in a past life or something? I mentally sighed as I continued to observe the fight that growing more interesting by the second. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't like the rules being broken, especially when it comes to fighting, but this fight was getting better and better as I watched. Sasuke threw a punch – Naruto dodged. Naruto punched back and Sasuke kicked Naruto's legs, causing Naruto to fall down. Sasuke was about to kick Naruto again, but Naruto rolled out of the way and head butted Sasuke. Stepping back, Sasuke tried to attack; unfortunately, he managed to step on a soda can which he slipped backwards on. I saw a gleam of victory in Naruto's eyes as he took that moment to finish the fight. However, Naruto also slipped on the can; this time, though, he slipped forwards and...well, let's just say that those two got closer than two normal teenage boys really need to. Once the two realized what had just happened, they got up and spit, embarrassment written all over their faces.

"Why'd you do that, huh?!" Naruto yelled at Sasuke.

"That's my line," Sasuke muttered as he finished spitting up.

While those two were trying to forget the incident, Ino and I were dying of laughter around the corner.

"Oh...my...gosh... That was so freakin' hilarious!" I remarked between laughs.

"I... really... shouldn't... be laughing." Ino tried to sound serious, but her laughter wouldn't allow it. "After all... it's Sasuke-kun..."

After about five minutes, the two of us calmed down.

"All right," I said, "we'd better get going. Cheer practice starts in ten minutes."

"Yeah, you're right," Ino agreed as she picked up her sports bag. "This incident, it stays between us, right?"

"Of course. You know I wouldn't tell a soul."

Secretly, I knew someday I would. After all, this was great blackmail against the Uchiha. And it's not everyday one can find something to humiliate him with. Oh, life can be so good sometimes!

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Normal POV)**

Morning time had come, and as Sakura, Ino, and Hinata made their way to the front courtyard of the school, they noticed that everyone was crowded around something.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ino questioned, standing on her tiptoes to try to see the commotion.

Some random stranger answered, "It's the transfer student. Apparently, the local gang leader knows something about him and started a feud."

Sakura gasped. "Where's Sophia-lincho?"

"She went to get Tsunade," Sasuke replied out of nowhere.

The three girls sprang back in surprise. "S-Sasuke-kun!"

"That guy," Sasuke muttered, "he's so arrogant..."

Deciding to take a closer look, the four pushed their way to the front as quickly as they could. Once they got there, they found Naruto and the gang leader staring at each other. Finally, the gang leader spoke.

"Ha, I've heard you're a really good fighter," the man said. "You don't look like much, though."

"Tch, listen, I don't care what you've heard," Naruto retorted. "You should leave before you get hurt." And with that, Naruto tried to walk past the guy.

"Hey, who said you could go anywhere?" The gang leader stopped Naruto from stepping any further. "'Come on, show me what you've got, kid."

Without warning, the gang leader threw a punch at Naruto. Quickly, Naruto dodged the punch, ducking behind the guy and pulling out...

"Yo-yos?!" the crowd exclaimed, most of them collapsing.

By the time most of them got up, however, the fight was over. Naruto had won, leaving the knocked-out gang leader to his followers.

_A-Amazing,_ Sakura stated.

"Alright, listen up!" Naruto announced to everyone. "I'm done with these kid fights! If there's anyone who's serious about fighting me, I'm sending out a challenge! Just try and beat me!"

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Tsunade's office)**

"What do you mean you're not going to interfere?!" yelled Sophia as her hands slammed onto Tsunade's desk.

It was Sophia, Tsunade, Kakashi, and a few other teachers inside the dean's office. Sophia had come to Tsunade, hoping the woman would stop the nonsense downstairs, but the woman wouldn't lift a finger.

"Calm down," Tsunade ordered. "Naruto's old enough to take make his own decisions along with all the other students at this school."

"But he's fighting a gang leader! Who knows who else could show up?! What if someone ends up seriously injured...or worse?!"

"I know you're concerned, Sophia, but this is out of my hands. Here, take a look. Naruto hasn't even laid a punch on that guy yet."

Everyone in the room went over to the window to watch the fight. Naruto appeared to be walking away, but then the gang leader stepped in front of him. Next thing they knew, Naruto had pulled out a couple of yo-yos and had beaten the crap out of the man. The faculty and Sophia stood there, uncertain of what they had just witnessed.

_W-What the hell was that? _Sophia asked herself.

Tsunade turned back around to face Sophia. "It's not that I don't care. But seeing as how our school is made up of tough, hard-headed dumbasses, I don't see a reason to interfere. The students here can handle themselves."

"But –"

Sophia was cut off by Kakashi. "Sophia, listen to Tsunade-sama. No matter how much you argue, it's not going to make a difference. She's in charge, not you."

Closing her mouth, Sophia crossed her arms and made her way to the door. Before she left, she said, "Tsunade-sama, I respect what you're doing; but if this goes on for too long, I'll have to take the situation into my own hands."

"Of course," Tsunade responded, sitting down in her huge office chair.

"So she's not doing anything?" inquired Neji as Sophia exited the office.

"Absolutely nothing," the girl complained angrily as she plodded down the hallway, Neji following behind her.

"I'm for your side, no matter what you do. You know that, right?"

Facing him, Sophia answered, "Of course, I know that."

Neji just smiled as he caught up to her and said, "Okay then."

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(P.E. Class – Teacher: Might Guy)**

"Okay, you youthful spirits, gather around!" Guy commanded, a bit too excited. "Today, today you all will be playing a game of dodge ball. Team captains will be Sophia and Lee."

The two glanced at each other. Though not a lot of people knew it, Sophia and Lee had been rivals ever since they were kids. Now, they were friendly rivals; they weren't the type to put each other down.

"Heh, ready to lose, Lee?" asked Sophia.

"I am afraid you're mistaken," he retorted. "I am not the one who shall be losing today."

"We'll see!"

"Alright, both of you will each pick a person to be on your team," said Guy. "Sophia, you can start."

"Neji-kun."

Lee chose next. "TenTen."

"Sakura-chan."

"Kiba."

"Uchiha."

"Shino."

"Ino."

"Hinata."

There were only two people left: Naruto and Chouji. Shikamaru, for some reason, had "disappeared." Everyone knew, though, that he was probably sleeping underneath the bleachers. Sophia thought over who to pick next. Naruto was fast _and_ strong, but saying the wrong word to Chouji would unleash a force greater than Sophia could imagine. Inhaling, she decided, "Naruto."

"Which means Chouji, TenTen, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata are on Lee's team," Guy concluded, "and Neji, Sakura, Sasuke, Ino, and Naruto are on Sophia's team. Here are the rules: both teams must stay on their sides. The balls will be set in the middle of the court. Once I blow my whistle, anyone is allowed to grab a ball. Whoever is hit is out. If anyone catches a ball that is thrown at them, the person who threw the ball is automatically out. The last team standing wins."

Both teams got on their sides, ready for Guy to blow the whistle. Even though this wasn't a life or death situation, tension could still be felt. Silence overtook the gym as each team stared at each other, all determined to win. A high pitched noise broke the silence and both teams took off to get the dodge balls.

The game lasted for about thirty minutes. First someone from Lee's team was out, then from Sophia's team, then back to Lee, then back to Sophia, etc. It all came down to two people on Sophia's side: her and Naruto. The only one left from Lee's team was Kiba. Since all the balls were on Kiba's side of the court, Sophia and Naruto were defenseless. Luckily, Kiba only held one dodge ball.

"Let's go, Kiba!" his teammates cheered. Akamaru, who wasn't allowed to play dodge ball (poor dog), barked loudly, cheering for Kiba as well.

Taking a deep breath, Kiba tried to decide who to attack. Once he made up his mind, Kiba pretended to throw the ball at Sophia; and in that split second where Naruto thought he was aiming for Sophia, Kiba really threw the ball at Naruto. But Sophia figured out Kiba's plan right as the ball flew from his hand. It was like a scene from a movie where the actors are all in slow motion: Sophia dashed in front of Naruto, taking the hit from the dodge ball while Naruto _and_ Kiba stood there in surprise.

"Out!" judged Guy.

And only two were left. The two boys stayed on their sides of the court, both ready to get the game over with while Guy set one ball down and quickly stepped back to his spot off court. Kiba and Naruto just glared at each other as they waited for the whistle. Both had one thought their head: _I'm going to win!_

"_Whistle*_!"

They sprinted for the ball. Naruto was almost there, but before he could touch it, Kiba grabbed the ball and launched it at Naruto.

"Yeah, we won!" some of Kiba's teammates yelled.

A few on Sophia's team hung their heads in defeat. But Sophia and Lee witnessed a truly amazing victory. As the cheers of Lee's team disappeared, the members of Sophia's team brought their heads up to see what had happened. And, boy, were they glad they did. There, holding the dodge ball up in the air, was Naruto. Everyone gazed in awe. Naruto had caught the ball right before it could hit him and had won the game for Sophia's team! Victory swelling up within them, Sophia, Sakura, and Ino ran up to Naruto, jumping up and down and praising the boy for winning the game. Neji and Sasuke, however, stayed back and sulked.

"I can't believe I didn't make it that far," mumbled Neji.

"How in the world did that dobe make it farther than me?" Sasuke whined.

The other team didn't take the loss that hard. After all, it was just a game. However, Kiba didn't take it as easily as his teammates.

"There's no way I lost to him!" Kiba snapped. Hinata and Shino did their best at holding him back as he tried to pounce on Naruto. "I couldn't have lost! Not to that worthless piece of trash!"

Hearing those words, Naruto glared at Kiba. "What did you – "

"Calm down, Naruto," Sophia warned.

"Kiba!" Guy hollered. "That's no way to talk to a fellow schoolmate! Go run fifty laps!"

"Tch, whatever!" muttered Kiba as he ran towards the doors leading outside.

Watching him leave, Sophia knew that this conflict between Naruto and Kiba was far from over. After all, both knuckleheads sure did have anger problems; of course, the whole class actually had anger problems. That's probably one of the things that made them close.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sakura POV)**

After school, I met up with the other girls from my class. We were _supposed_ to go shopping, but a crowd much like the one from this morning had gathered again in the courtyard. My only guess: Naruto. That kid is the only one who could begin a ruckus like this.

"I wonder who Naruto's fighting this time," commented TenTen.

_If it's Sasuke-kun, Naruto's dead! _roared my inner-self.

Curious to see who he was fighting, we squeezed our way through the crowd and finally approached the front. I couldn't believe who Naruto was against. "Holy crap, it's Kiba-kun!"

"Eh?!" my friends shrieked as they looked for themselves.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Ino questioned. "Those idiots are going to get themselves expelled!"

At that moment in time, I expected Sophia-lincho to lunge between the two boys and beat the crap out of them. But when she just stood there with her arms crossed and a disapproving face, I knew something was wrong.

"Sophia-lincho, aren't you going to do something?" I inquired.

Our class president drew a long breath, eyes closed. "Unfortunately, I have no authority over the two idiots. Tsunade-sama told me not to worry about the battles that Naruto is causing. So until things get too out of hand, I'm not doing anything at all."

_What?!_ I was shocked. Tsunade-sama isn't interfering at all? What was she thinking? Sighing, I decided to let it go. Sophia-lincho probably already tried to knock some sense into Tsunade-sama's head; I wouldn't be of any help. Upon hearing one of the boys speak, my attention averted back to Naruto and Kiba.

"Okay, trash, this time I'm for sure going to win!" Kiba announced arrogantly.

"Ha, yeah right," contested Naruto. "Get ready to lose..._again_!"

Without warning, Kiba – pissed with fists clenched – launched himself at Naruto, ready to pummel Naruto's face into the gravel. Quickly, Naruto ducked out of the way, but instead of Kiba missing, he kicked Naruto in the nose, causing him to fall backwards. We thought Naruto was down for the count.

"Yeah, way to go, Kiba!" one boy screamed.

A few others cheered as well. For some reason, though, their cheering ticked me off. I don't know why, but I wanted Naruto to win. I guess it's because part of me wanted the underdog to prevail.

"Come on, Naruto, get up!" I yelled.

My friends stared at me as if I was crazy. Kiba stared too. If it weren't for the heat of the moment, I would have been completely embarrassed. But I had to get that stupid kid back on his feet. "You can't let him win! After all, you already sent out an invitation for anyone to challenge you! No one's going to take you seriously if you lose your first actual fight! They'll just think you were some sort of poser – a kid who was bluffing! Is that really how you want to go down?!"

In reality, _I_ was surprised at my own reaction. But it had to be said. After all, Kiba wasn't that good of a fighter anyways. Slowly but surely, Naruto got up. Everyone's attention turned back to the dual.

"Heh, ready for more, loser?" Kiba asked in a mocking tone.

Naruto, clearly pissed, ran towards his opponent. Once he was close enough, he jumped up in the air, leg ready to kick Kiba back. Kiba, not expecting Naruto to be as fast as he was, couldn't defend himself quickly enough and was sent flying backwards. Picking himself up, Kiba spit out some blood. Now, it was his turn to be pissed off. Before anyone knew it, both boys were on the ground, Kiba hovering over Naruto and punching him in the face. Then Naruto flipped them over and began punching Kiba in the face. The two went at it like this for a few minutes. Finally, Naruto – with Kiba trying to pummel his face – kneed Kiba in the stomach, causing him to roll off Naruto. We all knew that it was the end of the fight. Either Kiba was going to give up or Naruto would finish him off. But before Naruto could make a move, Sophia was between the two boys.

"Oi, get out of the way!" he snapped. "We're not finished!"

"Yes, you are," stated Sophia, arms crossed. "You've proven you're the better fighter. Now, let it go."

Naruto's fists were clenched. It looked like he was going to attack Sophia-lincho, but he didn't. Instead, he grabbed his school bag and made his way home, leaving the rest of us speechless.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sophia's POV)**

After Naruto walked off, I returned my attention to Kiba. The girls had already gone to his side, making sure he was alright. I could've told them he was fine; Kiba was a hard-headed dumbass who rebounded swiftly.

"You shouldn't have interfered," said Kiba. "I could've gotten back up."

"You're welcome," I retorted sarcastically.

"Why exactly did you fight him anyway?" Ino questioned. "We've seen you lose games before, and you've never had as much rage then as you did today."

"It wasn't about revenge," I answered for him. "Kiba just made it look like that, right?"

I winked at the boy. He looked shocked.

"H-How did you know?" Kiba asked.

"Wait, what's going on?" Sakura, Ino, TenTen, and Hinata had confusion written all over their faces.

"Kiba's real intention was to see how well of a fighter Naruto was. He just didn't want to make himself look sweet, so he pretended to be a sore loser. He wanted to help Naruto get attention from other fighters."

"So you intentionally lost?" Ino inquired.

"Of course not!" yelled Kiba. "I never intentionally lose anything!"

I interrupted. "He didn't intentionally lose. Kiba gave it all he got. I've got to admit, I thought Naruto wasn't going to get up after you kicked him, Kiba."

A blush appeared on Kiba's cheeks. Turning away, he mumbled something along the line of "Yeah, thanks."

The girls and I decided that it would be best to get Kiba to the nurse. Ino and Sakura gave him support as he tried to walk while Hinata and TenTen grabbed their bags and followed them. I would've gone with them, but they told me to go home instead. _Well, I guess I'm alone then,_ I said to myself. Neji-kun had gone home earlier than usual because he had to fill in as a teacher for one of the martial arts classes so I didn't really have anybody to walk home with.

As I exited the gates of the school, I noticed a small group of people on the corner of the road. I stopped suddenly as I realized who they were. Karin and her groupies were blocking Naruto, obviously pissed off about something. I hid on the other side of the corner and listened in on their conversation.

"What do you want?" Naruto questioned, sounding a bit irritated.

"Listen here, newbie, if you keep on bothering Sasuke or any of his friends, we'll make sure Tsunade-sama takes care of it," Karin replied. "You've got that?"

"I could care less," Naruto said before he walked around the girls. "Girls like you get on my nerves."

By now, Karin had a surprised look on her face. No one had ever talked to her like that. When she realized he was trotting off, her face turned from surprise to hate.

"How dare you!" she screeched through her teeth.

Naruto turned around. "Huh?"

Karin was about to tackle him down. Anybody who was walking by could've seen that. But I could see there was more hatred than that in her eyes. I ran from the corner I was hiding behind and pushed Naruto out of the way as Karin slapped me. The three of us fell to the ground. Karin was on top of me, choking me. Naruto was beside me, wondering what had happened. When he noticed Karin attacking me, I was almost unconscious. Who would've thought that she was this strong?

Naruto pushed Karin off of me. I sat up and started coughing, relieved that there was such a thing as oxygen. Karin and her friends ran off.

After they were gone, Naruto helped me up.

"Thanks," I said.

"I should be thanking you," he replied. "After all, who would know what would've happened if she tried to hurt me. Anyways, are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure."

"What's her problem?" Naruto asked about Karin as he helped me up.

"Karin is, um, _very_ obsessive when it comes to Sasuke. She's also one of those girls to wants everything to go her way. Not a lot of people like her even though she acts like she's the most popular girl in school."

By this time we had both started walking home again. Apparently, Naruto didn't live too far away from my apartment. Actually, he only lived a block away.

"Oh, which reminds me, please don't be mad at Kiba, okay?"

Naruto's eyebrow raised in question.

I continued. "Kiba-kun was just trying to help you out. He wanted to be your first opponent after you challenged everybody this morning so he figured he put on an act of being a sore loser to make him look tough. He really didn't mean the words that he said."

I could tell that Naruto still wasn't sure. "Trust me, I've known Kiba-kun for years. Yeah, he has a temper, but he's a good person underneath it all."

Though Naruto still didn't look satisfied, I could see a glimpse of gratitude in his eyes. A few moments passed in silence before Naruto began a new conversation.

"So why does everyone like this Sasuke guy so much?" he inquired.

I thought a minute about that. Then I said, "Well, that's over exaggerating on some parts. But, I guess it's because most girls think he's cute. I, on the other hand, just think that only a little bit. Most boys just admire his advancement in school. He's one of the smartest and strongest guys in school. I've never seen him once fail a test, and we've been in the same class since elementary. That guy's… something else."

Naruto didn't say anything. It wasn't until I noticed we passed my apartment building that I stopped walking.

"Ah! Sorry, Naruto-kun, but I've got to go!" I panicked. "We just missed my apartment! Kakashi-senpai's probably wondering what I've been doing!"

I ran off. When I turned to wave at him, though, he had a confused look on his face. I wondered why.

**(Naruto's perspective)**

I looked at Sophia with confusion. _D-Did she just say Kakashi-sensei? But… what in the world did she mean? Do they live together!?_ Once she was inside, I raced home. _Don't stop… Don't stop…_ I kept telling myself.

I made it to my apartment in five minutes. That was the strangest day of my life – yet.

* * *

**And so ends another chapter of this story! Want to figure out what's going on between Sophia and Kakashi? Well, be waiting for the next chapter to find out!**

**Thank you all so much! I've enjoyed reading the reviews that have been sent to me so far! Please, continue to send me reviews along with any comments you have about the story. I'm the type of person who can take criticism (as long as it's not rude criticism) so help me out as much as you'd like! Thanks again!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again everyone! Just to let you know, I will not be updating this story every week (I know, I suck...). That's because school is starting back up next week along with volleyball season (first year on varsity, whoohoo!) so I won't have as much time to write. So I'm sorry if you were hoping for an update every week, but I will try to update every other week (or sooner if possible)! Thanks again for all your support and for the reviews! I appreciate the constructive criticism I have received. And to the person who asked why Sophia doesn't call the teachers "sensei," I can't answer that yet. The answer will come in later chapters where more of her biography will appear. So, sorry, you'll just have to wait a little longer! And also to the person who said something about the story being different than "Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den": this story is only _inspired_ by the OVA; it's not supposed to be exactly like it.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden, or "Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den" (the inspiration for this story). However, if I did, I would at least once show Kakashi's face (I mean, really, we all want to know what it looks like!)...**

* * *

**Chapter 3 – "Naruto vs. 'The Rock'"**

**(Naruto's Perspective)**

"_Beep! Beep! Beep!"_ I put my hand on my desk and searched for the alarm clock, wherever it was. I finally found the snooze button and hit it. _Maybe just a few more minutes…_

"Naruto-nii-chan*, are you awake yet?"

_Damn, it's Konohamaru...again. _I got up and opened the door.

"What do you want?" I asked, a little bit cranky.

"You promised to take me to school today," the little kid reminded me.

"Oh yeah."

"Well, are you ready yet?"

I looked at my half naked body and realized that I needed to get dressed. "Just a minute."

Running to my closet, I pulled out my uniform and hurriedly got dressed. After I closed the closet door, I remembered something. I rushed to the desk beside my bed and opened the drawer, grabbing my black headband which I had forgotten to wear yesterday. I would've worn it on my first day, but Tsunade-obasan* told me I couldn't.

"Hey, what's that for?" Konohamaru inquired while I tied the fabric around my head.

"It's a headband that I wear during all of my fights, sort of like a good luck charm. I've never lost a fight with it on."

"It looks stupid."

My eye twitched after he said that. Then, once I realized the time, I grabbed my school bag and rushed Konohamaru downstairs.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

"Nii-chan, I hear you've got a girlfriend," Konohamaru said as we walked to his school.

Konohamaru went to Konoha Middle School, which was right next to my school. His family lived in the same apartment building that I lived in so I usually babysat him.

"Where'd you hear that from?" I asked absentmindedly.

"Well, I didn't hear it per say; I sort of _saw_ it."

That caught my full attention. I went through my memory of the past week, wondering what he was talking about. "When did you see it?"

"Yesterday; I saw you and a girl with black hair walking together. So, what's her name?"

I blushed. He thought Sophia was my girlfriend!?

"Y-You've got it all wrong, kid! She's not my girlfriend. She just happens to live near our apartment building so we decided to walk together."

"Uhuh, right..."

I could hear the complete sarcasm in his voice. Irritation was rising inside me, but I let it slide. He wouldn't understand at his age.

"All right, we're here," I said as we entered into the middle school area. "I'll see you later."

"Okay, bye!" he waved to me as he ran off to meet his friends.

I sighed. For some reason, I was half happy to have him out of my way.

"Ah, Naruto-kun, it _is_ you!" a familiar voice greeted.

"Good morning, Sophia-lincho," I replied.

"Good morning," she said back. She raised an eyebrow after she got a good look at me, making me feel a bit self-conscious. "What's up with the headband?"

"What, this? It's my trademark! I usually wear it during my fights, but I forgot about it yesterday."

"Huh, it looks stupid."

I hanged my head. She was the second person to say that. Maybe I shouldn't have worn it. As we made our way towards the high school, there was a short silence before I remembered that I wanted to ask her about something. _Oh, what was it?_

"Ah, um, how is Kiba?" I asked when I finally figured out what my question was.

"Oh, him." She sighed. "Don't worry; he's used to being in fights. That idiot's probably already walking around and blabbing his mouth off again."

I laughed.

"Hey, that's not funny, Sophia-lincho!" Kiba complained as he walked up behind us. "I don't blab my mouth off!"

"Yeah, yeah," she replied as she walked off into the school building.

"H-Hey, wait up!" Kiba and I called as we ran to catch up to her. For a girl, she was pretty fast.

As we entered the classroom, I noticed some of the kids looked pissed. _Wonder what their problem is?_

"Oh, Naruto, no hard feelings about yesterday?" Kiba mentioned after we both sat down.

"Of course not," I said. "Sophia-lincho told me what you did. Thanks."

"No problem."

Well, at least someone wasn't pissed off today. _Speaking of being pissed off..._ I could feel stares behind me. Before I could turn around to look at the "suspects", however, the bell rang. Everyone was quiet for a second, and then they started talking again. Kakashi-sensei was late...I guess that was a usual thing for him. Nobody knew why he was always late, well, that I knew of anyway. And that reminded me of something.

"Hey, Shikamaru," I turned to one of the only people that wasn't staring at me.

He faced me. "What is it?"

"What is the relationship between Sophia-lincho and Kakashi-sensei?"

He looked at me like I was crazy; then remembered that I was still new. After that, he started laughing. "Oh, so you're asking about that? Why?"

"Because Sophia-lincho and I walked home together yesterday, and she said something about Kakashi-sensei wondering what she's been doing-"

I was interrupted by his laughs again. "Sorry, sorry; don't worry about it. Kakashi-sensei is Sophia-lincho's guardian."

Yet again, another surprise. "Guardian?"

Shikamaru stopped laughing as his expression changed from dying of laughter to seriousness. His gaze shifted to the desk in front of him.

"Yeah, Sophia-lincho's parents...were killed when she was just a kid..."

I was shocked. Something like that happened to Sophia-lincho? She seemed too happy to be an orphan! "How?"

He hesitated before continuing. "They were murdered. Sophia-lincho barely remembers a thing. From what the newspapers said, all she remembers is their cries of torture. The weird thing is, though, nobody knows how she got out alive. Sophia-lincho can't even remember."

No way. Her parents were killed!? And she lived through it?!

"Shikamaru," Neji cut off, "You know we're not supposed to talk about 'that.'"

"Yeah, sorry," he apologized.

I suddenly got the feeling that there was something wrong with the way Neji said "not supposed to talk about 'that.'" I was going to ask a question but-

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei welcomed as he appeared out of nowhere. Now, _that_ was something I'd never get used to.

"Ohayo gozaimasu*," all of us replied.

"Kakashi-senpai, you're late," Sophia said. "Again."

"I know, and I'm sorry about that," he apologized.

Sophia just stared at him with a blank face. And with that, our regular school day started.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sophia's perspective)**

"Sophia-chan, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes. What in the world had happened? And why did my head hurt so much? Sitting up, I looked around to see where I was. A few of my classmates were surrounding me – the only one that stood out, though, was Naruto. He looked like a little kid when they've done something wrong.

"Sophia, are you okay?" Neji-kun asked again.

I looked at him and blushed. He was the closest one to me, sitting on a chair right next to the bed I was lying on. I put a hand to my head as it began to throb.

"Wh-What's going on?" I asked.

"Eh, looks like you don't remember," Sakura said. "You were knocked out by these two."

She pointed to Rock Lee and Naruto. I was still confused.

"How?" I inquired. "I mean, how could I have been knocked out by _them_?"

Everyone sighed.

"Looks like I'll have to explain," Sakura said.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sakura's perspective – one hour before)**

School had ended. I thought there was going to be at least one fight, but oddly enough, there wasn't… yet. It wasn't until I saw a group of girls and guys from the higher classes crowded around something, that I realized that I was totally wrong.

"Hey, Sakura!" Ino called me over.

She was already in the crowd, Hinata standing right next to her. I ran over to them.

"Who is it this time?" I asked.

"It's Naruto and Lee-san," Ino replied.

My eyes widened. Lee-san was fighting Naruto?!

"Why is he fighting Naruto at this time? Doesn't he have soccer practice?"

"It seems he skipped it," Neji-san answered as he walked up beside us.

"Neji-san (nii-san)*!" Ino, Hinata, and I jumped.

"But why'd he skip?" I questioned.

"Since yesterday, Lee's been pretty mad at Naruto," he answered. "I should've known it would've ended up like this. Lee took control of the situation in his own way."

I tried to watch the fight. We were at the very back of the crowd, making it hard to see anything. It seemed as if Lee-san was actually winning. Naruto looked beat up enough, but something about Lee-san was off. He didn't have the "fire" that he usually had in his eyes. Instead, it was something of anger...maybe jealousy? That couldn't have been it.

"What's with the headband?" pondered Ino.

Our attention drew to the black cloth tied around Naruto's head. With it on, he resembled one of those lame superheroes whose show only comes on when a special television program is finished early.

"It looks stupid," we all stated, regarding the headband.

Our thoughts were interrupted by several gasps from the front. I wondered what had happened. As I stretched on my tiptoes to observe, I saw that Lee-san had been kicked to the ground by Naruto. He had coughed up a little bit of blood, but it was enough to make me even gasp.

"Lee-san!" I whispered, worried.

A few minutes passed, and it got worse. Naruto and Lee-san looked like they were at their limit.

"It's the finishing blow," I heard Neji-san mumble. "Now, we'll see who has the most endurance."

I didn't know who to cheer for. Sure, yesterday I was all for Naruto winning. But Lee-san was a good friend of mine.

Lee-san and Naruto had knocked each other to the ground. Both of them got up, determination in their eyes. And then, without any hesitation, both ran at one another; however, Sophia-lincho got in the way. Lee-san, who was going to kick Naruto in the side it seemed, and Naruto, who was going to punch Lee-san (this, I've learned, is Naruto's favorite attack), tried to stop. But it was too late. Lee-san was already in mid-air with his kick; luckily, Naruto had a little bit of time and was able to try to push Sophia-lincho out of the way the same time that Lee-san's left leg reached her. Our class president flew backwards. It wasn't until I realized that Neji-san was gone from behind me, that I heard a grunting noise just before Sophia-lincho hit the ground. Neji-san had caught her.

"Sophia, are you okay?" Neji-san asked her as he laid her on the ground.

"Sophia-lincho!" Lee-san and Naruto shrieked as they ran towards her.

Ino dragged me and Hinata over to Sophia-lincho's unconscious body. I was kind of scared; after all, nothing like this had happened to her since we were in elementary school. But after seeing that she had swirls in her eyes, we found that she was fine.

"Hey, is she alright?" inquired Naruto as he and Lee-san got to us.

Neji-san nodded his head. "She's fine, but we should take her to the nurse just in case."

Picking up Sophia-lincho, he walked towards the nurse's office with Hinata following after. Meanwhile, Ino and I dragged Naruto and Lee to the office too. They looked like they had just gotten out of a car accident. And plus, they needed to apologize to Sophia-lincho.

/~~*~~/

/~~*~~/

**(Sophia's perspective)**

"And that's what happened," Sakura finished.

I fell back on the bed. _I was that stupid? What was I thinking?_

"But I have a question," Ino said. "Sophia-lincho, why did you get in the way?"

As I sat back up, I thought about it for a second. Why did I do that? Then it hit me! No, not literally.

"Because Naruto-kun would've lost by default," I answered.

Everyone just stared at me like I was a psycho that had just escaped prison.

"What are you talking about, Sophia?" Neji-kun asked.

I pointed at Naruto's shoelace. "His shoe was untied. He would've tripped, and Lee would've won. That would not have been a fair win for either of them."

They all collapsed.

"That's the only reason?" Sakura queried.

"Yeah, I guess," I replied.

Without any pause, Naruto and Lee started laughing. I could feel a pulse mark appear on the back of my head.

"Well, as long as you're okay," sighed Neji-kun.

I looked at him and blushed again. Then I remembered that Lee still didn't know the truth about yesterday. "Lee, has anybody told you what really happened yesterday between Kiba and Naruto?"

He seemed confused which answered my question. I cleared my throat before I explained to him about how Kiba was just helping Naruto out.

"Oh, that makes sense now," he said after I finished. Then he looked at Naruto. "I am sorry, Naruto-kun."

Rubbing the back of his head, Naruto replied, "It's alright. Don't worry about it."

Great, that was one problem solved. Next, I had to figure out a way to get us all out of here. "So I guess I'm free to go home."

"She is okay, right?" Hinata finally spoke.

I turned to look at Shizune-san, the school nurse.

"Yes, she'll be fine if she doesn't do that again," Shizune-san answered as she eyed me.

A nervous laugh arose from my mouth.

"That reminds me, I better take you home," Neji-kun said as he got up.

"Yeah, it's time for us to get home, too," the others said.

"Hinata-sama, will you be okay walking by yourself?" Neji inquired.

"Yeah, besides, I have to pick up Hanabi from school."

"Okay, then."

Neji-kun helped me up. It seemed that he had grabbed my bag while I was knocked out. I thanked him, glad he was so considerate.

**(Neji's perspective)**

I decided to walk Sophia home from school. Something inside my head told me that it might be bad if she walked by herself, considering she had just recovered from an attack by two complete idiots.

"Sophia, why are you trying to help Naruto?" I asked when we were a few blocks closer to her apartment.

She didn't say anything for a while. When I looked at her, her head was bowed, and I couldn't read the expression on her at all. Finally, she answered. "Because he's... like me..."

I stared at her in confusion and disbelief. What in the world was she talking about?

"Sophia, I don't understand."

She just sighed. "I looked at his records while I was helping Tsunade-sama organize her office today. Naruto-kun's an orphan, too."

Instinctively, I asked, "Are you sure?"

She just nodded her head, still not looking up at me. I hated that she wouldn't show me her face. It was as if we were in elementary school again. After a second, I turned my gaze back in front of me.

"Neji-kun, you understand, too, what it's like, right?" Sophia asked.

My hands clenched together. _Why did she have to bring that up?_ I sighed. I guessed there was no way out of it anyhow. She knew me all ready.

"Right," I answered as I turned my head away.

"Ah, gomen*; I didn't mean to bring back anything, Neji-kun."

Sophia's voice was so... sympathetic. I couldn't stand it. It made me feel guilty about nothing. "You didn't do anything wrong, Sophia. I'm fine."

Just to make her feel satisfied, I pasted a smile on my face. She turned her head, and I swear I saw her face turn red.

Minutes passed by, filled with ordinary conversations such as how our day went or how life was at home, until we reached her apartment. Before Sophia opened the main entrance, she turned to look at me and smiled.

"Thank you for walking me home, Neji-kun," she said. "I appreciate it."

Without even knowing it, I blushed. She walked inside, miraculously not noticing how red my face was. I let a huge gulp of air escape my lips. And for some reason, at that moment, I felt like we were kids again.

**/~~*~~/**

**/~~*~~/**

**(Sophia's Perspective)**

_Screams of terror._

_A man at the door with red eyes._

_A blood-stained carpet._

_A girl, covered with so much blood, broken and torn._

Could that be me?

_A knife heads toward the girl and then…_

* * *

**Cliff-hanger! Well, sorta... Anyways, this chapter was not as long as the last (sorry, again). And I don't have any good way of transitioning this into the words/suffixes that have the * beside them (yes, I know it's an asterisk) so...**

**Naruto-nii-chan*: nii-chan basically means "brother"; by putting an "o" in front of nii-chan (which would be "onii-chan"), one would get the word for "older brother"**

**Tsunade-obasan*: obasan means "grandmother" or in Naruto's case "granny"**

**Ohayo gozaimasu*: "Good morning"**

**Neji-san (nii-san)*: Hinata is the one that calls Neji "nii-san" since they are family; Sakura and Ino just call him "Neji-san"**

**gomen*: "sorry"**


End file.
